History

Our landscape is shifting.

When the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the on and off ramps to San Francisco’s Central Freeway, community members fought against rebuilding the freeway. Instead of freeway overpasses filled with traffic, they wanted more livable space.

Members of the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association successfully worked with the City to develop a long-term plan for the neighborhood. The plan included building more housing and expanding Octavia into a grand boulevard with green space and a playground.

The housing plans were stalled with the economic downturn of 2008. This meant that, two decades after the earthquake, the empty lot at Laguna and Oak remained vacant. In January 24, 2010, the City activated the site for temporary green space use. The slump in the economy meant that, not only was land available for short-term use, people were available, seeking new skills and ways to engage.

Tens of thousands of visitors poured into 450 Laguna to transform the site into an urban commons, replete with fruit forests, bio-intensive cultivation practices and community gathering spaces. That was the beginning of Hayes Valley Farm.